Would derived table solve your problem ?

SELECT * FROM ( ;
  select e.id,;
      e.caption,;
      e.internal_id,;
      l.Caption as location,;
      e.cur_meter,;
      e.model,;
      e.serial_no;
    from equipment e;
    left outer join locations l on l.id = e.location_id;
    )
order by &cSortOrder;
into cursor temp1

>VFP 9, SP1
>
>>You will only need alias if the same field name is presented in both tables. What VFP version are you using?